The present invention generally relates to hand held power tools and more particularly to routers.
Routers are convenient tools that have been used by craftsmen and artisans for decades to perform many woodworking tasks, including cutting decorative shapes and edges in wood and other materials that are conducive to such operations. Routers are generally of two types, fixed base routers and plunge routers. In a fixed based router, the housing is fixed or locked in a position relative to the base after the depth of cut of the tool bit has been set. A plunge router has a housing that is movable relative to a base with the amount of vertical movement being determined by a depth limiting mechanism so that when an operator pushes down on the router to engage the bit into a work surface, it can be locked at the working elevation during operation.
Either type of router can be used free hand by a user or can be mounted to a table and operated in the same manner as a shaper. Many artisans and woodworkers have individual preferences as to the type of router that they wish to use to perform various tasks, and each type of router has its advantages and disadvantages depending upon whether freehand or table mounted operation is being carried out. Some users greatly prefer using a plunge router for freehand use even though they believe that it is more difficult to install and operate in a router table. Some artisans may purchase both types of routers to have a choice depending upon the type of operation that they wish to carry out.
In addition to marketing both types of routers, some manufacturers have developed hybrid routers which have some common components and which can be operated both as a fixed base router and a plunge router. At least one such design has a perfectly cylindrical type motor unit that fits into fixed and plunge router bases, with each of the bases having its own operating handles. In this design, the depth of cut adjustment mechanism has no commonality for each type of router operation and the feel of the tool is somewhat different with each base during operation.